Showing papers in "Organization Studies in 1993"

Organizational Learning: A Review of Some Literatures:

Abstract: Organizational learning is currently the focus of considerable attention, and it is addressed by a broad range of literatures. Organization theory, industrial econ omics, economic history, and business, management and innovation studies all approach the question of how organizations learn. A number of branches of psychology are also revealing on the issue. This paper assesses these various literatures by examining the insights they allow in three main areas: first, the goals of organizational learning; second, the learning processes in organizations; and third, the ways in which organizational learning may be facilitated and impeded. It contends that while the various literatures are revealing in particular aspects of organizational learning, a more complete understanding of its complexity requires a multi-disciplinary approach. The contributions of the different approaches are analyzed, and some areas are suggested where the transfer of analytical concepts may improve understanding.

Breaking the Paradigm Mentality

Abstract: This paper reflects critically upon the core argument of Burrell and Morgan's highly influential Sociological Paradigms and Organizational Analysis and evalu ates responses to it. Although Burrell and Morgan were explicitly concerned to open up a wider field of vision to students of organization, their book simultan eously declared a new dogma: the mutual exclusivity of paradigms. The specific target of the paper is Burrell and Morgan's sharp division of 'subjectivist' and 'objectivist' forms of analysis. To challenge this dogma, attention is given to Kuhn's understanding that there is continuity as well as incommensurability in the process of theory development. In contrast to the 'pluralist strategy' favoured by Reed (1985) and the defence of paradigm incommensurability recently made by Jackson and Carter (1991), the paper follows Kuhn in commending a process of reflection committed to the identification and remedying of anomalies within existing theories. This argument is illustrated by examining the p...

Informal Collaboration in R & D. The formation of Networks Across Organizations:

Abstract: A barter economy is operated by the Danish biotech community. This barter economy is significant as an 'interactional infra-structure' for the emergence and discovery of collaborative R&D venues. Norms of liberally sharing information on the frontier of research greatly enhance the efficiency of the network forma tion process. Our study documents the whole process of informally forming collaborative relations amongst companies and universities in biotech R&D. A model is developed which serves as an interpretive scheme for case studies.The patterns of collaboration depicted in this paper appear to be anarchistic and random, but we argue that these traits are somewhat 'domesticated' by com munity norms. Furthermore, in spite of its strategic importance, networking appears to be totally out of managerial purview and control. However, we suggest that these collaborative relations may in certain, often paradoxical, ways be channelled and conditioned by managerial fiat.

News From Behind My Hand: Gossip in Organizations:

Abstract: This paper offers an interpretation of the importance of organizational gossip. It draws together theory and research from various disciplines in order to explore four main propositions: that gossip is a phenomenon worthy of serious study/analysis; that gossip in organizations has been under-researched; that ana lysis of gossip reveals important aspects about the social organization of work; and that gossip is a social process that helps to protect and perpetuate organiza tions. It concludes that gossip is intrinsic to organizational life. Gossip offers the individual escapism and social mobility and has been undeservedly avoided in organizational analysis. Consequently, as a subject, it demands greater attention in the future in terms of theory and empirical research.

Individual Perceptions of Organizational Cultures: A Methodological Treatise on Levels of Analysis

Abstract: Data from a survey study of organizational cultures in 20 organizational units in Denmark and the Netherlands were re-analyzed at the individual level, after elimination of between-unit variance. A factor analysis showed individuals' values to be composed of six dimensions, and individuals' perceptions of their organiza tion's practices of another six dimensions, entirely different from the dimensions found earlier to apply at the organizational level. The scores on these new dimen sions are related to various demographic characteristics of the respondents. This case is used for a methodological treatise stressing the need to choose the proper level of analysis for the problem at hand, a need which is too seldom recognized.

Analogical Reasoning and Knowledge Generation in Organization Theory

Abstract: This paper reviews and evaluates the cognitive status to which metaphors and analogies have been ascribed in the process of knowledge generation in organiza tion theory. Three perspectives are identified: metaphors as ways of thinking, metaphors as dispensable literary devices, and metaphors as potential ideological distortions. The main tenets of each one of them are reviewed and subsequently submitted to criticism. It is argued here that, despite their differing claims, the preceding perspectives converge on the assumption that there is a gap between metaphorical and scientific languages. The grounds for the existence of this gap are challenged in this paper, noting that the structure-mapping theory of analogy provides a methodology for developing metaphorical insights to yield scientific models and theories.

A Constructivist Framework for Understanding Entrepreneurship Performance

Abstract: This paper outlines a constructivist framework for understanding the outcomes of the entrepreneurial process. The core thesis of the paper is that, taken alone, neither the personality of the entrepreneur nor the structural characteristics of the environment determine the outcome. Rather, it is argued that the outcome of the entrepreneurial process is emergent from a complex interaction between the entrepreneur, the environment, chance events and prior performance. The framework is illustrated with evidence from biographies of six entrepreneurs involved in successful processes.

Perceived Political Climate and Job Attitudes

Abstract: The present study examines the relationships between perceived Organizational Politics (OP) and job attitudes. Questionnaires containing scales of perceived OP climate and job attitudes were administered to a sample of 200 employees in several organizations. It was found that variables reflecting on the employee's status in the organization such as Gender and Supervisory Position moderate the relationships between perceptions of organizational politics and job attitudes. The association between climate and negative job attitudes was stronger for employees of lower status than for those of a higher status. It was speculated that organizational politics has a potentially damaging effect on lower status employees, who react to a climate of politics by showing increasingly negative attitudes towards the organization.

Spontaneous Humour as an Indicator of Paradox and Ambiguity in Organizations

Abstract: Assuming that humour is built on a foundation of recognized contradiction, incongruity and incoherence, then it seems plausible that humour points to dis course capable of revealing the nature and substance of paradox and ambiguity- a topic of increasing interest to students of organization. This paper presents the method and results of a case study illustrating the interpretive possibilities of combining humour analysis with the study of paradox and ambiguity as a means to address everyday experience in organizations. Results are interpreted as indicating a paradox of control and the ambiguity of problem and solution thinking.

Cognition in Organizational Analysis: Who's Minding the Store?

Abstract: Research on cognition in organizations has focused primarily on managers and how they think while performing a variety of managerial tasks. This approach limits our understanding of cognition at the collective level and the interactive effects across levels of analysis. We propose a framework of cognition — based on structure, process, and style — which can be applied to the individual, group and organizational levels of analysis. By mapping the territory, we observe certain well-travelled routes, while other terrain remains relatively unexplored. This map also identifies theoretical and methodological road blocks which suggest a number of future research directions.

Paradoxical Thinking and Change in the Frames of Reference

Abstract: Different types of mental frames of reference among employees in a producers' cooperative are described. Characterizing the employee this way produces a pic ture of the way in which each employee processes information that, in a given situation, enables him or her to identify probiems and solutions. These different frames of reference are assumed to have an impact on the actions taken by these individuals. Furthermore, such actions are assumed to be connected with actions in the organization. Some of the employees occasionally display unexpected beha viour that cannot be explained by the way they have previously interpreted their situation. They experience a paradoxical situation in the organization, during which previous frames of references (or parts of them) are 'deframed' and devoid of meaning, because they hecome involved in discussions on a different, unknown level. Some of these employees discover that the new categories are socially constructed, enabling them to pursue new ways of understanding th...

The Relationship of Career Mentoring to Early Career Outcomes

Abstract: This study examines the relationship of career mentoring to the promotions, compensation and satisfaction of 148 early career managers and professionals in Belgium. The results support the conclusion that career mentoring is particularly related to early career promotion histories, to general work satisfaction and career satisfaction. Career mentoring was unrelated to total compensation. These results occurred even after controlling for a variety of factors identified by Pfeffer (1977) and Whitely et al. (1991). Several reasons are provided for the relationship between career mentoring and these early career outcomes. The results suggest a number of areas for future career mentoring research.

Autopoiesis and the Science of (Public) Administration: Essence, Sense and Nonsense

Abstract: The model of 'autopoiesis' — originally a biological model of a living system- has stimulated some outstanding social and administrative scientists to creative thinking about possible implications and applications. In this paper, the applica bility of the model to the science of (public) administration is discussed. Applying a natural scientific model to a social science is hazardous. The paper begins with a description of the original model and a discussion of its systems theoretical impli cations. Next a review of the various interpretations of autopoiesis in different fields of the social sciences is presented. Finally an attempt is made to perform a careful translation and cautious application.The autopoiesis model seems to offer new insights into the self-governance of organizations. The model opens a fundamentally different perspective on the relationship between organization and environment. From an organization science point of view the model seems intriguing enough to have a close look at it.

'Paradigm Wars': A Response to Hugh Willmott

Abstract: Pippa Carter Department of Management Systems and Sciences, University of Hull, England Willmott’s paper (in this volume) seeks, by reference to developments in Labour-Process Theory (LPT), to dissolve the incommensurability of the subjective-objective dimension of Burrell and Morgan’s (1979) paradigm model. The main concern of this brief response is with the concept of incommensurability, not with LPT. It is not uncommon to describe the debate on paradigm incommensurability as ’paradigm wars’, and this seems a particularly appropriate term: in war, one objective is for one side to subordinate the other. Burrell

The Politics of Organizational Analysis

Abstract: This paper introduces the realist concept of science to defend and advance the critique of positivist organization theory in the face of Donaldson's counter- critique, and to rescue Foucault from the obscurity of postmodernist interpret ations, thereby establishing his significance as a guide to organizational ethno graphy.

Research Note: An Analysis of Specificity in Transaction Cost Economics:

Abstract: The transaction specificity of assets yields dependence, and hence transaction costs in case of opportunism and bounded rationality. However, this dependence need not be symmetric between buyer and supplier, and there may be dependence without transaction specific assets. There are many forms of speci ficity, yielding different patterns of more or less symmetric dependence. These different forms of specificity are analyzed in terms of a formal, generalized rela tion of specificity. The implications for dependence are discussed.

Ownership, Strategy and Performance: Is the Dichotomy Sufficient?

Abstract: Do ownership characteristics moderate strategy, or is ownership a strategic vari able in itself? This is the research question that motivates this study. In order to shed light on this issue, Berle and Means' (1932) separation of ownership and control thesis as well as Demsetz and Lehn's (1985) symmetrical model of owner ship are empirically evaluated in the Canadian context. The findings indicate that neither framework is sufficient to explain the strategic conduct and profitability of firms operating in Canada. It is suggested that a broader based approach incorporating government and foreign ownership distinctions would be more promising avenues for future research than those which solely consider Berle and Means' (1932) dichotomy.

Brewery and Brauerei: The Organizational Ecology of Brewing:

Abstract: Germans and Americans differ in their beer drinking habits and customs. The organizational structures of their brewing industries also differ: Germany is notable for the highly fragmented nature of its industry, which contains many more breweries than the larger American industry. Yet the historical evolution of the two brewing industries is remarkably similar. In both Germany and the U.S., the number of breweries grew slowly for a long period, then expanded rapidly in the late 19th century, and finally declined severely for almost a century. Intrigued by this common pattern, we attempt to explain long-term organizational change in the two industries using the ecological perspective on organizations. We focus on the organizational ecology model of density-dependent legitimation and com petition. Our tests use life history data on all breweries known to have operated in the U.S. and Germany during the period 1861 to 1988. We estimate and report specific tests of the density model using stochastic rates of ...

Organization Theory and Consumption in a Post-Modern Era:

Abstract: In recent years, social theory has become increasingly concerned with consump tion and the changing nature of consumer society. By contrast, students of organizations have given only limited attention to the implications of consump tion and consumerism for the analysis of their subject matter. In the light of this, the paper considers the contribution that the sociology of organizations can and should make to discussions of consumption and associated debates concerning contemporary consumer society. Our argument is that since in contemporary societies, consumption is achieved through the mediation of organizations it fol lows that an adequate study of consumption can only be developed in conjunction with the sociology of organizations. However, it is also the case that the analysis of organizations must change if it is to take the issue of consumption seriously. By placing consumption more centrally in our analysis, the study of organizations is, in our view, forced to address current theoretical and empi...

Masculinity and Women Teachers at Christian Brothers College

Abstract: In this paper I attempt to fill partially a gap identified by Mills (1988) who claims that, despite the emergence of a strong body of literature on organizational culture, gender has remained 'at best' a marginal theme in this literature. Draw ing upon notions of agency and structure, I report a case study of aspects of the construction of masculine subjectivities in a Catholic boys' school, and of the encounter of women teachers with its organizational culture. Such a focus is particularly revealing of the institution's gender regime. I examine gender as an aspect of background rules and hegemonic culture as they are mediated within the institutional context of the school. Finally, I consider the responses of the women to their encounter with the institution in terms of feminist possibilities for organizational reform.

The Long and Thorny Way to an Organizational Taxonomy

Abstract: Under the assumption that a classification system is necessary for the advance ment of any scientific field, this paper reviews major taxonomic studies in the literature. Although each of these studies has certain limitations in terms of proposed guidelines for the development of a valid taxonomy of organizations, in the aggregate they appear to demonstrate that organizations do indeed cluster in recognizable groups and that organizational scientists have indeed the meth odological and statistical tools to identify them. Some general guidelines for future taxonomic studies are discussed, as well as possible reasons for the lack of research in this area.

The Problem of Experience in the Study of Organizations

Abstract: This paper deals with the fact that we cannot experience large organizations directly, in the same way as we can experience individuals or small groups, and that this non-experientiability has certain implications for our scientific theories of organizations. Whereas a science is animated by a constructive interplay of theory concepts and experience concepts, the study of organizations has been confined to theory concepts alone. Implications of this analysis for developing a science of organizations are considered.

Good and Evil in the Chairmen's 'Boiler Plate': An Analysis of Corporate Visions of the 1970s

Abstract: Boiler plates, the chairman's message that begins each corporation's annual report, provide a reflection of the self-image of American big business. This paper uses the method of dramatism for discovering and interpreting corporate dramas inherent in the language of the boiler plates of the Dow Jones Industrials. The U.S. economy of the 1970s provides the dramatic setting, with the company as hero, the government as villain and public interest groups as minor players. The overriding corporate drama can be traced to the archetypal drama of pure competition. Understanding corporate dramas allows us to see how companies create a shared rhetorical vision to unify their shareholders with management and employees, label actions as good or evil, and influence the public by putting forward a positive corporate self-image.

Paradigm Gridlock: A Reply

Abstract: were, through the twists and turns of their response. 1. Since I make only passing reference to their defence of paradigm incommensurability (Jackson and Carter 1991 ), I find it flattering that Jackson and Carter (JC) should take such an interest in my paper. I am grateful to them for giving me an opportunity to reflect upon its argument and to clarify my position in relation to those issues that they raise (see especially 3 below). 2. Their ’response’ is rather restricted, as JC acknowledge. Instead of engaging with, and responding to, the developing argument of my paper

Managing Euregional Networks

Abstract: The European internal market has increased politicians' interest in the implica tions of the new international situation for public administration. In particular, collaboration between regional and local authorities is regarded as important in order to accomplish economies of scale and scope. In this context, the Euregion Maas—Rhine — an area consisting of five regions in three nations, encompassing three languages — is a peculiar and complex example. Using network ideas as a theoretical framework, this paper describes and analyzes attempts to generate collaboration in this region. It highlights various recommendations for the prac tice of transborder interorganizational cooperation and considers the implications for the further development of network theory, a branch of organization theory which is becoming increasingly important for both business and public administration.

The Gods and Goddesses: Personifying Social Life in the Age of Organization

Abstract: All social life is underpinned by the activation of archetypal processes. These processes are understood here as representing the gods and goddesses, as they have been conceived by mankind since antiquity. This is not a religious but a psychological account of those energies which emerge from the collective unconscious and dictate the form of the world as we understand it. The pantheon of gods and goddesses as found in Greek myth is used to describe the represen tation of 'divinities' as they are 'worshipped' in the age of organization. Those gods and goddesses who seldom appear on the corporate Mt. Olympus, but who are sorely needed to address a staleness in the experience of organizational life, are briefly reviewed.

Materialism and Idealism in Organizational Research

Abstract: Organization theory needs a framework that can elucidate the technological, economic, political and symbolic forces that are at work in and on organizations. Much organizational research can be seen as materialist, by virtue of its granting primary causal efficacy to technical—economic forces, or idealist by virtue of privileging political—symbolic forces. The conflict between materialism and ideal ism has often been inflated and/or obscured by conceptual strategies of specializa tion, eclecticism and reductionism. A metatheoretical approach to materialism and idealism is presented that clarifies the fundamental nature of the approaches and distinguishes areas of possible reconciliation from areas of irreducible conflict.

Transnationals, International Organization and Deindustrialization

Abstract: We examine the link between transnational corporations (TNCs), international state apparatuses and deindustrialization. We suggest that international state apparatuses, such as the EC, are institutional devices, complementary to firms (including TNCs) and states in international production and the division of labour. Their policies are the result of, or express, a complex interaction of (the interrelationships between) often conflicting interests of, for example, consumers, TNCs and state functionaries. The complex articulation of the relationships involved and the associated often non-predetermined nature of emergent policies, allows for the identification of applicable, e.g. consensus-based, policies. Internat ionalization of production and the TNC is linked with the emergence of internat ional state apparatuses, such as the EC, but also the 'new international division of labour, deindustrialization and 'relative decline'. Being a home base to TNCs does not immunize a country from deindustrialization. A...

Book Reviews : Krastyu Petkov and John E. M. Thirkell: Labour Relations in Eastern Europe: Organizational Design and Dynamics: 1991, London: Routledge. 235 pages

Abstract: ity on the basic principles of the society are discussed. All the chapters within Part II provide a well-established analysis and also enjoyable reading. In Part III (Chapters 10 to 12), the author endeavours to describe and compare the management systems of five Central European socialist countries, namely Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary and Rumania. Chapter 10 provides a short description of each country. Compared with the country studies of the U.S.S.R. and Poland, the discussion of the five Central European countries is much more superficial and is restricted to descriptions of the main characteristics of the state management systems. Developments in management theory are not discussed at all. Although the popular labels are used, they do not show the real characteristics of countries. For example, using the slogan ’Gulash Communism’ for Hungary, reflects only touristic impressions. Chapter 11 tries to explain the differences between the socialist countries by comparing their cultural background. Although only limited information is available to the author, the comparative analysis seems to be